1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the packaging industry. In more specific aspects, the invention relates to multiwall packaging and methods for forming multiwall packaging that have zippers associated with the package.
2. Description of the Related Art
As more and more consumer products are packaged, the need for enhanced consumer end product packaging continues to grow. End product packaging not only has to keep the products fresh, the product packaging needs to protect the environment from the product contents and protect the product contents from the environment. The packaging must also be strong enough to hold materials of varying weights, without being damaged, in order to provide packaging for a vast array of consumer products. Of particular importance is the ease of access to the materials within the packaging. Another important aspect includes tamper resistance to prevent the likelihood of tampering with the contents within the bags.
To increase access to contents within a bag, others have developed many types of bags with many types of closures. Examples of user friendly bags can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,376,035 titled “Zipper Fins For Plastic Bags” by Dobreski et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,919,535 titled “Fins For Plastic Bags” by Dobreski et al. These plastic bags are provided with a zipper or a slider, a zipper track, and one or more fin members. The consumer can initially open the zippered bag, use a portion of the product, and then easily reclose the bag until the product is needed again. This zipper combination is easily operated and can withstand stronger forces applied thereto than zippers previously used on plastic bags. Applicants have recognized that these zipper combinations described in Dobreski are limited to plastic bags. Although plastic bags can provide adequate packaging for some products, they are simply not durable enough to provide adequate protection for many types of products.
Tampering with consumer goods has also become a problem throughout the years. Packaging producers have been developing better mechanisms to enable consumers to determine if the product within the packaging may have been subjected to some form of tampering or unwanted opening prior to customer purchase. Examples of bags with a tamper evident feature can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,286,999 by Catchman titled “Tamper-Evident Reclosable Bag” and U.S. Pat. No. 6,439,770 by Catchman titled “Reclosable Bags Having A Tamper-Evident Retaining Member Extending Through A Slider.” These patents describe many types of devices that can be installed along the zipper track of zippered bags to determine if tampering has occurred. Examples include a removable cardboard, paper, or plastic member covering or adjacent to a zipper slider in the closed position and then attached to the bag in some way. If the zipper is moved, the removable member will show signs of tampering. Applicants have recognized that the tamper-evident features in the Catchman patents require the use of some additional element that has to be damaged in order to show signs of tampering.